After Devin Legaux's death, New Orleans Police Department blamed him for several crimes, including a French Quarter armed robbery on July 6, when Legaux was locked up in a Slidell cell.

When Devin Legaux was run down and killed in Faubourg Marigny on Aug. 10, the New Orleans Police Department moved quickly to close five cases -- robberies that 8th District detectives pinned on the 33-year-old murder victim from Slidell.

The cases were cleared "by exception," which means no further investigation is needed because the suspect is dead. But at least one of those crimes -- an armed robbery in the French Quarter on July 6 -- happened when Mr. Legaux was locked up in a Slidell jail cell.

Mr. Legaux's mother pointed out that unassailable alibi to police in an effort to clear her son's name. But as recently as Sept. 30, the NOPD remained satisfied with its conclusions. "As far as we are concerned, he is responsible for them," spokesman Bob Young said.

The rush to clear these robberies is worrisome. The NOPD finally decided to reopen its investigation of the July 6 robbery, but it did so only after The Times-Picayune published a story that pointed out Mr. Legaux was in jail when the crime was committed.

That story also raised questions about the other robberies, including the fact that physical descriptions of the suspects -- including dark-skinned, curly-haired, white and Hispanic -- don't match Mr. Legaux, a short, African-American man with a light complexion and a buzz cut.

The contradictory list of physical characteristics casts doubt on whether witnesses were describing the same person, much less the dead man. And while they did identify a photograph of Mr. Legaux, investigators don't typically use a photo lineup -- where witnesses must choose between the suspect and five similar-looking people -- in cases where the suspect is dead. That may have been the case in these crimes.

Public safety and justice would be better served by taking another look at the other four robberies that have been pinned on Mr. Legaux. If he remains the most logical suspect, no harm will have been done by further scrutiny.

Police officials also should be concerned about the department's credibility. Closing cases by exception boost clearance rates and can make a detective unit look good. But officials need to be vigilant and make sure that detectives aren't blaming crimes on dead suspects to improve their clearance rates. Requiring investigators to use photo lineups, even in cases where the suspect is dead, would be one way to improve the process.